Friday, January 4, 2013

Yay for Christmas! I was in the States the last two Christmas', so this was only my second Christmas in Peru. The first year I was here, I spent Christmas in Iquitos, and this year I was here in Arequipa. On December 17, I had a party at my little apartment, with 15 or 16 people. It was those who were still in Peru from the USA and the Peruvians who work in the office. We had a fun time together, sharing traditional North American snacks, including, but not limited to, homemade hard candy, carmal popcorn, and lots of spiced and candied nuts! We had a great time sharing the Christmas story with each other.

My cousin, Beth, is a missionary in Venezuela with Campus Crusade for Christ. She and two of her co-workers came to Arequipa to visit over Christmas and for the additional reason of renewing their visas for Venezuela. Chelsea and Lindsay went to Cusco and Machu Pichu for a few days and Beth and I had some time together to do things we wanted to do. We went to the Mirador in Sanchaca one day. The "Venezuelans" were here for two weeks, and we had a good time visiting with one another. We went on the local bus tour of Arequipa and went down town several times to the Plaza de Armas and surrounding area. It was a blessing to have family here for Christmas!

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And a Christmas Miracle...
fresh milk...pasturized and homaginized!!!!

Well, we had a great time in Pucallpa! I have many more pictures I was trying to upload, but it wasn't working for me (not sure why), so here are some of the many. The team arrived in Pucallpa on the 8th of November, and then we headed out to Curimaná to get started on the new church there. Pastor Dario came and met the group at the airport, and though the team was small, we were able to accomplish much. Also, this was the first time that we had a good group of hermanos from the church we were building help with the construction. It was great to work side by side with the brothers and sisters of the church!

Everyone was ready to get started on the first day! We started out with a prayer dedicating the area-building site to God!

Daniel is always the joker, and even with gloves on, he still has to give a thumbs up!

On the first Sunday we were there, we had a medical visit with the owner of our hospedaje. I translated for the doctor.

Daniel and I had a meeting of the minds before church service. :-)

Dad, trying to understand some of the service on Sunday morning.

I know, it looks like I am not doing anything, but holding rebar is really important!!!

It may be styrofoam blocks, but we still have to make concrete to hold it together.

Then we started using the 20 kg bags of lyme to hold the blocks in place while we worked on other sections of the walls.

We had three and a half days of medical clinics in Curimaná, and there was no lack of patients.

The second Sunday we were there, we went to Cambio Noventa for service. We took 7 mototaxis. Honestly, I didn't think the ride was too bad...it wasn't raining, it wasn't too hot, and there were only a few bumps...so I thought! I was informed otherwise! :-)

This little sweetie is only three, and usually three year olds in Peru won't go to someone who isn't their family. However, as I talked to her aunt, she informed me that this little girl lives with her because her mother doesn't care for her. She is starving for attention. She sat on my lap for a good hour and a half and talked with me about all the little girl things happening in her life. So precious!!!

That evening, we had the dedication service at the new chapel. Everyone was happy to see the finished product, and the church was packed with over 200 people. The ladies of the church made chicherone de chancho...fried pork!!! It was a lovely service!

After the group left at the airport, dad and I visited with Pastor Dario and family for the day, then we went on our own personal adventure, including an 18 hour bus ride. Hopefully, I can get more pictures on here soon, but this gives a pretty good overview.